Circular-knitting machine



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1. E. C. COVELL 8v lh-S. CRAM.

CIRCULAR KNITTINC MACHINE.

No. 414,105. Patented Oct. 29, 1889.

MHZ/55555 "Y" N. PETERS. MDLIW VlnNngtnn. IIIA C.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2. E. G. GOVBLL & E. S. CRAM.

CIRCULAR KNITTING MAGHINE.

Patented Oct. 29, 1889.

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(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

E. C. COVELL 8v E. S. CRAM.

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE.

10.414.105. Patenoot. 29.1889.

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4 :ummm-NIMH N. PETERS. Pluto-www1'. Wll'llon. D. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT GEFICE.

EDGAR C. COVELL AND ELISI'IA S. CRAM, OF LACONIA, NEW HAMPSHIRE.-

CIRCULAR-KNITTING IVIACHINE.l

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 414,105, dated October 29, 1889.

Application filed May 16, 1887. Serial No. 238y334. (No model.) Patented in Canada, June 23, 1887, No. 27,022.

T0 @ZZ whom, it may concern.'

Be it known that we, EDGAR C. COvELL and ELISHA S. CRAM, of Laconia, in the county of Belknap and State of New Hampshire, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Circular-Knitt-ing Machines, (patented in Canada by Canadian Letters Patent, No. 27,022, dated June 23, 1887,) of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to knitting-machin es, and has for its object the improvement of the invention shown and described in a patent granted to us June 2l, 1887, No. 365,244. In said patent we have disclosed a method of gradually varying the diameter of a tubular fabric in the process of knitting' the same, which method involves a gradual change in` the position of the stitch-wheel relatively to the needles, whereby the length or size of the loops is varied stitch by stitch and course by course, effecting the result mentioned. IVe have also discovered in said patent improved contrivances for effecting a stopping of the machine after a predetermined amount of knitting has been performed.

Our present invention comprises improvements which are the outgrowth of experience with the invention set forth in our said patent, which improvements secure greater simplicity of construction, entire certainty of operation, and perfect convenience in use.

As explained in said patent, our improvements have been wrought upon and applied to knitting-machines of the circular class employing' barbed or spring-beard needles, Xed in a rotary cylinder and equipped to produce a knitted fabric by the aid of stitch or loop, presser, landing, and knocking-over wheels, though it is obvious that some parts of our improvements are equally well adapted to other kinds or types of machines.

In our present improvements the patternchain which governs the position of the stitchwheel relatively to the needles is brought more nearly in contact with the support for said stitch-wheel-that is, it operates through the medium of fewer devices, which fact enwill be automatically stopped when the Work runs olf the needles through the breaking of the thread or from other cause, as Well as when a predetermined amount or length of web has been knit. We have also contrived' improvements whereby the excessive ballooning of the work-pulling-up cord and the consequent objectionable effects of such ballooning is avoided, and incidentally to these improvements rendering the control and manipulation of said cord more convenient. We have also simplified and improved the adj uncts of the stitch-Wheel support, the pattern device for regulating and controlling the position of the stitch-wheel and the associated parts of said pattern device, as also other parts than those mentioned of the stopmotion mechanism, all of which will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, the same letters indicating the same parts wherever they occur.

Of the drawings, Figure l represents aside elevation, partly in section, of a knitting-machine head and its support With ourimprovements applied thereto,y certain parts of the machine being omitted, as hereinafter explained, in order not unnecessarily to encumber and confuse the illustrations. Fig. l is a view of the swiveled Work-hook bar, a portion of the pull-up cord or chain attached thereto, and the manner of applying a Weight to said cord or chain for purposes to be eX- plained. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is bottom plan view of the same. Fig. a is an enlargedsectional detail of the, knocking-over wheel and its support.

In the drawings, @represents the bed of the machine; b, the needle-cylinder; c, the barb or spring-beard needles; d, the driving-shaft; c, the bevel-gear on the driving-shaft, arranged to have its teeth mesh with those of a similar gear f, secured to or forming a part of the lower end of the needle-cylinder l).

This machine is adapted to be equipped with all of the appliances necessary to produce a tubular web in a manner Well understood by all knitting artisans. Amachine of this character is shown and described, forexample, in a patent granted to John Bradley,

No. 244,736, July 26, 188], and reference may IOO ` In carrying out our present improvements,

we mount the stitch-wheel g on a stud g Y formed on or secured to the inner end of an adjustable rod h, supported in a star-box h', which latter is in turn supported on a pillar or post h2, attached to the machine-bed. The star-box is provided toward its rear end with an enlarged chamber h3, and the part of rod h passing through the enlarged chamber is turned down, so as to form a shoulder h4 on saidrod. l

t' represents a spiral spring surrounding rodv h in chamber 7 3 and bearing at its outer end against the star-box and at its inner end against shonlderh4 of the rod, andjvith this arrangement operating with a tendency to, move the stitch-wheel and its supporting-rod. toward the needles7 as indicated by the flight of the arrow22 in Fig. l.

. t2 is a 4set-nutscrewed on the outer end of rod lhand limiting or regulating the extent'to.

which the wings or blades ofthe stitch-Wheel may be, sunk between the needles, t" being a applied to the cord or chain n, for the purjam-nut for locking set-nut i2 in position. As thus far described, the construction..` and Yarrangement of parts for supporting the stitchwheel inoperative position do not differ materiallyfrom those of common knowledge.

j represents a bracket adapted by means of: screwsj to be secured to the frame a at the rear thereof, said bracket being provided with suitable bearings for a rotaryshaft k, having a sprocket-wheel 7a secured to one end thereof, which sprocket-wheel carries a patternchain c', as most clearly shown in Fig. l.

jg represents a bracket secured to any stationary part of the machine, (shown inthe present instance as attached to star-box h,) and tothe said bracket `j? is pivoted, as at Z, alever Z, forked or otherwise suitably constrncted at its upper end to engage the stitchwheel-supporting rod 7i to move'the latter outward Aagainst the tension of spring' vl. Leyer Z is provided at its lower end withfa roller ory bowl Z2, adapted to rest against-pattern-chain c on sprocket-wheel 7c. The-links ofpattern-chain c being of varyingA thickness, as shown -in Fig. 2, it follows, when sprocket-wheel k is turned so as torbring the linksof greatest thickness in contact .with wheel or bowl Z2, that lever Z will be rocked on its fnlcrum Z', so as to draw back stitchwheel-supporting rod h in a direction opposite to the flight of the arrow 22in Fig. 1,1and so shorten the stitches or loops formed by the stitch-wheel on the needles, and when said thicker or Alarger links pass bowl Z2 and the' Athinner or smaller links are brought around opposite thereto spring t' will move the stitchwheel-supporting rod back in the `direction of the iiight of the arrow, and so permit knitting to` be performed with longer loops, all for a purpose fully explained in' our aforesaid patent.

By our present invention the pattern-chain c is arranged directly below the rear end of the stitch-wheel support, and but a single lever intervenes between said pattern-chain and stitch-wheel support, so that the intiuence of the pattern-chain upon the stitch-wheel is quite direct and entirely certain, there being no intervening contrivance to get outl of order.

m indicates the take-up head, of any known or suitable construction, swiveled to the work, pull-uplcord 0r chain n, extending upward and over pulleys or wheels (not shown) arranged in suitable brackets or bearings in the ceiling, from which pulleys the cord or chain n extends down around a sprocketwheel o, secured to shaft kat the end opposite that to which sprocket-wheel 7c is secured,ifrom whence said cord or chain passes up to and over a pulley p, arranged at any suitable point of the ceiling or elsewhere in the rear of the machine, aweight p being attached at the end of the cordv or chain to opcrate the sa1ne,as is common in some classes `of work-take-up devices.

In Fig. l we have shown Ya weightm, as

pose of cozunterbalancing the weight of that =portion of the vchain whichextends down from the ceiling around sprocket-wheel o, so that if take-up head m should be drawn up to or toward the ceiling out of reach of the operator said' head maybe lowered by simply" lifting' on said part of chain n passing 1down4 from the ceiling to sprocket-wheel 0, ythe lowering being effected by weight m.

The most important function, however, that is accomplished by thc-.weight m on the cordor chainn is the prevention of. what is termed theballooning ofthe latter in theoperation of knitting; The ballooning of the cord or chain above the knitting-head has'the efmachine. A'spring n is attached by one end to the upper free end of artnr, and' at the other end to some stationary partl of thel machinebed, said spring operating to draw the upper endl of arm 7" in the kdirection of the arrow 3.

The inner edge or. face of a rim`of sprocketwheel 0 is provided with notches 0', into which notches a pawl vs is adapted to be drawn`.` Said pawl is connected with arm?n by means of a link s', pivoted at one end to' said pawl and at the other to said arm. Pawl sis IOO IIO

i 414,195 A s pivoted at its inner end on a shor t rod or stud s2, fixed in the rear end of forked rod t, said rod or pin s2 being adapted to slide in slots or ways il, formed in the bracket j, as shown in Figs. l and Forked lever t is pivoted at its forward end, as at t', to the lower end of a link t2, which latter device is in turn pivoted at its upper end to the lower end or downward extension of a pin t3, vertically arranged in a suitable bearing of the frame and adapted to extend up in front of the shipper-lever v, pivoted at its rear end, as at t', to the machine-bed. Said lever 'v extends through a groove w, form ed in the periphery of the elongated hub e of gear-wheel e, which, with it-s hub, is splined on driving-shaft d, so as to move longitudinallythereon,but be turned therewith. A spring r2, attached at one end to the shipper-handle and at the other end to the machine-bed, operates with a tendency to move said shipper-lever so as to move gear-wheel e on shaft d out of engagement with toothed ring or wheel f by which the cylinder b is revolved. lVhen shipper-lever o is moved so as to bring wheel e into engagement with wheel f, pin t3 will be forced upward by a spring 7 in front of said lever, and hold it locked in this position against the stress or tension of spring fr?.

Chain or cord n is provided with swells or projecting loops or links fr', as shown in Fig. l, which projectin links or loops are adapted, as they reach sprocket-wheel 0, to press against a roller or bowl m2 and the latter away from sprocket-wheel o, said bowl x2 turning on pin s2 of forked sliding rod t, and so moving said rod in the direction of the arrow 4, Fig. l, rocking link t2 on its pivotal connection with pin t3, and by th'e upper inclined end t* of said link bearing against any stationary part of the bed operating to draw pin t3 down and allow the shipper-lever to be moved to unship gear e and stop the rotation of the cylinder b, as aforesaid. In this way the machine may be stopped at any predetermined time-or, rather, after any predetermined length of fabric has been knit-by the arrangement of the swell or projecting loops or links on the chain.

Should the work run off the needles, the result would be to slacken the tension on chain n, permitting spring a to move pivoted arm vr in the direction of the arrow 3, which arm l1' would, through the medium of link s', raise pawl s into engagement with the notches 0 of sprocket-wheel o, which would move said pawl and forked lever t, to which it is pivoted, in the direction of the arrow 4, and so stop the machine. Itis to be observed, also, that in the event of the work running off the needles, the consequent slackening of chain a and bringing of pawl s into engagement with the notches 0 of sprocket-wheel 0 will stop the revolution of said wheel, so that the weight p may not operate to pull the cord or chain around the pulleys and sprocket-wheel o, and

draw the head m up to the ceiling, and this operation would take place whether pawls were pivoted to rod t or to a stationary part of the machine.

f indicatesa finger secured at one end to the bed of the machine and having the other end extending outward or rearward toward. wheel q, so as to engage chain or cord n between said inger and wheel q when it runs slack or loose by the work running otf the needles or from other cause, and hold said chain or cord from becoming disengaged from the sprocketwheel 0 or becoming entangled with any of the parts of the machine below wheel q and finger f. y

W'hen wheel q is moved in the direction of arrow 3, the proj ectionf2 on iingerf is brought against said wheel, clamping and holding the cord or chain between said parts.

u designates a lever fulcrumed or pivoted at w2 to the machine-frame, and at its inner downwardly-extending end resting upon or loosely engaging forked rod t, so that by rocking said lever on its fulerum rod t may be slightly depressed7 by which movement pin t3 will also be depressed, so as to permit the shipper-lever to move and stop the machine. The lever yw and its arrangement on the machine is not, however, a necessary adjunct of the invention.

When knitting very close or tight stitchesthat is, when the larger or thicker links of chain c bear against bowl I? of lever Z*knock ing-over wheel y, if arranged as is commonly done for ordinary work, would break or cut the loops of the stitches by reason of the deep engagement of the blades of said wheels with the needles and the strain that would be pnt by them on the needles. To overcome this difficulty, we inter-pose a spring e between the rear end of the rod y, on which the knocking-over wheel is-supported, and the bracket or support for said rod, and provide a screw z for adjusting lthe tension or force by which said knockingover wheel is pressed toward the needles In this way, when the loops are quite short or tight, the knocking-over wheel will yield thereagainst without undue strain thereon, and at the same time fully perform its usual functions; and when the loops are long or quite slack the blades of the knocking-over wheel will sink deeply between the needles and better perform the work of knocking over the loops than though the said wheel were not so positioned when the stitches were loose and long. Sprocket-wheel 7c beingmounted on the same shaft as sprocket-wheel o, the firstementioned wheel is turned by the rotation of the latter caused by the movement of chain or cord n, as described.

The construction and functions of the several devices have been so fully set forth as to make further description of the operation of the machine unnecessary.

Although we have been particular in our description of the construction and operation IOO IIO

' ysupporting rod, a sprocket-Wheel, a patternchain on said Wheel adapted to engage the other end of said lever and draw the stitch- Wheel backward from the needles, and means for rotating the needle cylinder or head and said sprocket-wheel, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. The combination, With the needle-cylinder and needles, of the stitch-Wheel, means, substantially as described, for gradually varying the position Aof the stitch-Wheel with respect to the needles, and a knocking-over Wheel and its support, and a spring for holding the knocking-over Wheel pressed yieldingly toward the needles, as set forth.

3. The combination, with the needle-cylinder and needles, of a take-up head, a pull-np cord or chain attached to said take-up head, a pulley over which said chain or cord runs, and a Weight m', attached to said cord or chain above the take-up head and between the latter and said pulley, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination, With the bed or frame and the needle-cylinder and needles, of a pull-up cord or chain, a Wheel o, around which said cord or chain is adapted to pass, said Wheel having a rim provided with notches 0',

an arm r, pivoted to the frame and provided with a Wheel or bowl q, a spring n', a pawl s, and link s', connecting said pawl with said arm, as set forth.

5. The combination, with the bed or frame, the needle-cylinder and needles, of a pull-up cord or chain, lever or arm r, pivoted to the bed or frame and provided with roller or Wheel q, a spring n', and a finge-r f', as set forth.

6. The combination, with the bed or frame, the needle-cylinder and needles, gear fon the needle-cylinder, the driving-shaft, gearing connecting said gear j'with the drivin g-shaft, and shipping mechanism for disconnecting said gear f from the driving-shaft, of a pullup cord or chain, a Wheel o, provided with ratchet-notches o arm r, bowl or roller paWl s, link s', spring n', forked rod t, and mechanism intermediate of said 'rod and said shipping mechanism, as set forth.

7. The combination, with the needle-cylinder and needles, the stitch-Wheel and its supports, a spring for holding it yieldingly,

pressed toward the needles, pull-up cord or chain n, bracket j, Wheel o, shaft 7c, Wheel Zo', chain c', and lever Z, provided on its lower end with roller or bowl Z2, and connected at its upper end With the stitch-Wheel support, as set forth.

In testimony whereof We have signed our names to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses, this 5th day of May, A. D. 1887.

EDGAR C. COVELL. ELISHA S. CRAM.

- Witnesses:

HERBERT E. MACE, F. Gno. H. Oscoop. 

